The Jigsaw's Prison
by ScyStorm
Summary: Two bitter enemies find themselves trapped in a room, captured by a madman. They must work together to get out of their prison, or they will die trying.


**THE JIGSAW'S PRISON**

Furry Fan Fiction  
By: Scy Storm

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Another entry for NeonDragon's DeviantArt contest, plus just a really neat story idea. :3 Buddy snowcat Accelo suggested it as well as a few ideas that I expanded, so he is pretty win. The story is based off of one of my favorite movies: Saw. Also a kind of dedication to the new sequel, Saw II. There's also a little egg involving another story I write, see if you spot it.

**INEVITABLE DISCLAIMER:** If you don't know about Saw, it's about a maniac who captures people and puts them in traps where they either escape, or die trying. With that in mind, read on with caution.

* * *

An old and musty smell invades the jaguar's nostrils once his consciousness begins to come back to him. He begins to cough and hack heavily, picking himself up off whatever surface he's laying on. He goes to his knees and tries to control his cough, pounding his chest with his fist. When it finally calms down, he opens his eyes. A little blurry at first, but everything comes into focus. _... Where am I?_ He thinks. 

He scans around the room just a little bit. It's all stone. Old, gray, dusty stone. It's relatively small, as well. He can see a door at the corner just a ways away, and a very dim light blankets everything. He looks up to see it. Just a very old light bulb. Looking back down at himself, he can see he's still in the brown business suit he was wearing before... something happened. _What the fuck am I doing here?_

He wobbly stands up to his feet. For some reason, he feels very strange. May be because of whatever old dust he just inhaled inadvertently. He rubs his paw over his face and forehead, trying to focus. A shrill voice then sounds out. "Well well... Finally awake, I see." It says, sounding like it came out of a speaker.

The jaguar gasps and looks to his side. He notices what he didn't notice before: The room he's in is split into two halves. He sees a window laying in the middle of that wall, with a door to the left of it. And behind the window, bathed in a slightly brighter light than his, is a hyena. He's slightly buff, and wearing very crude street clothing in the form of a white tank top and long jeans that are old and tattered, the bottoms of the legs ripped and torn. He's leaning against the back wall and looking through the window at the jaguar, his red eyes looking annoyed, a few strands of his messy black hair hanging over his muzzle. "You'll have to get used to that dust smell, it's rancid." He says, his voice booming out from a speaker that's wired to that room.

The jaguar growls loudly. "You! You're a fucking gangbanger from the Killer Fists, aren't you!" He yells angrily.

"Lowe, to be specific. And you're Kega, golden boy of the mafia. Fancy running into you here."

"Are you and your gang responsible for this! I swear to God the truce will be fucking over!" Kega yells, getting angrier by the second.

"Yeah, sure. My gang captured both you and I and trapped us in this room. Calm the fuck down, Spots, I didn't do shit and neither did the rest of the Fists." Lowe snaps back.

Kega pants, chest heaving a little in his anger, but manages to start calming down. "Okay... I'll try. So, what -is- going on?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Lowe replies.

Kega just reaches up and scratches the back of his head. "I was alone at one of the mafia HQs. I felt like someone was coming in. I looked, and I saw a shadow moving about. I called out to them, and got no answer. So, I went down the hall to see who was there, and something jumped out. Next thing I know, I'm here, with you." He explains.

Lowe huffs a little in a chuckle. "Sounds like what happened to me, except I was walking down an alleyway. Saw the shadow and heard some weird noises. I thought it was one of you asses taunting me, so I was about to kick an ass or two before it jumped out."

"So we're here. For no reason? Is someone going to interrogate us?"

"Why don't you look on that table there? There's paper on it, maybe there's information."

Kega blinks, and turns, looking behind him. In the corner, there's a small table. He looks at the hyena once, before turning and walking over to the table. Neatly placed upon it are a closed calendar of the current year, a sheet of paper with a small list, a pencil, a card of some sort with a black stripe, and a small tape player. He can tell there's a tape inside it, and the tape has his name written on it in black marker. He takes a deep breath seeing that, remaining calm. He's guessing it's rewound and ready to play. He lifts it up and looks back at the hyena. "Think this is it?" Kega asks.

"Play it and let's find out." Lowe replies.

Kega nods a little, and stares at the tape for a second, before his thumb pushes down the "Play" button of the player. The tape begins playing, the coarse sounds of air heard on the playback. After a moment, a deep voice begins speaking, one that's obviously being used to conceal a real voice. "Hello, Kega. Or should I say... Hello, gentlemen. You are probably wondering where you are. The room you both are in now could very well be the one you will both die in."

"WHAT!" The hyena yells.

"Well I'm glad you can hear it from in there." Kega says.

The tape continues. "You both are respected members of factions that do no good to anyone. You are despicable, callous, and above all, you are cowards. You sit back and speak horrible words of the 'enemy,' while sending those inferior to you out to perform your business, whether against the enemy despite your truce, or whatever other illogical, unintelligent act you consider business."

"Who the FUCK does this guy think he is!" Lowe yells.

"You let others solve your problems and kill for you while you live life high and mighty, even with the shaky truce that binds you. Well now, the tables have turned. You will both have to live up to your pasts and use what intelligence you hopefully have to solve the predicament you're in. Otherwise, this room will become your tombs. Those who do not appreciate life do not deserve life. Do you appreciate life?"

"You have to be kidding me... How did this damn madman get us in this!" Lowe asks, rather angry now.

"Just listen to the tape, man! It's all we got!" Kega tells him.

"The way out of this room is the door in the corner. It requires two keys: A card key for the slot, and a turnkey for the latch lock. You, Kega, have the card key. I suggest you pocket it, and keep it very safe. You'll know why in due time."

Kega ignores the fact that the voice just said his name, and looks down at the card on the table. He's not sure why he's following the instructions, but he takes the key and puts it in one of his pant pockets. "The other key, the turnkey, is in the pocket of your friend Lowe. He has probably already discovered it, as well as the other thing I left for him: The antidote."

Kega blinks as he looks upward at the hyena. The look on the hyena's face suggests the madman is correct. "... Antidote? What antidote?" Kega asks.

"Are you feeling strange, Kega? Something not right? That's because right now, there is a slow-acting poison coursing its way through your veins. It will kill you in a matter of hours, if your body is strong enough to resist that long. Lowe holds the antidote to it, in one of his pockets."

"WHAT! I'm POISONED?" Kega yells loudly.

Lowe just growls a little, and concentrates on listening to the tape. "Lowe is trapped in a worse way than you. The chamber he is sealed in will soon be gradually and quietly filling with a deadly nerve gas. If he's not let out of there in time, he will surely perish."

Lowe widens his eyes. "WHAT! God DAMN you!" He yells, as if the tape is going to hear him.

"To be freed from his prison, a 6-digit number must be inserted on the electronic device on the door sealing him in. The combination of the door is contained within your own minds, and the resources available to you. And another thing: The seal of the door is linked to Lowe's life force. If he dies, it will be permanently latched, and Kega, you will never get the antidote or the second key."

"This can't be happening... Tell me I'm in a fucking dream!" Kega yells.

"Hope all you want, dude, we're fucking trapped!" Lowe yells to him.

"If you can get Lowe from his prison, he will be saved, and you both will have the two keys needed to leave the room. But then there is the antidote to the poison, in the hands of one of your enemies, whose life you just saved. Can you do it, Lowe? Can you save the life of your own enemy, after he just saved yours? That is the decision you will have to make, if you can even make it out of there alive."

The two victims lock eyes and look at each other for a moment, silently contemplating what was just said on the tape. Would Lowe do that? The tape also remains silent, as if the madman knew they would be lapsed in this moment of thought. But it doesn't end there. "You will both need to think hard, think fast, and work together to get out of this mess. And at the same time, poisons will be creeping through your bodies, threatening to destroy you with every passing second. Your bodies will not be able to hold on forever. But how long can they hold on?"

The two immediately turn and look at the tape after those words are said, the hand holding the player shaking a bit. "This is the ultimate test. Are you both strong enough and intelligent enough to escape certain death? Or will you prove me right, and fall like the weak, cowardly individuals you have lived your lives as being?"

After those words, the two lights in both halves of the rooms flicker and shut completely off, shrouding the two in darkness. They gasp loudly, but after a few seconds, they flicker back on. Both are staring at the bulbs, before they look down at each other, their eyes full of fear. "And so the game begins. Good luck, gentleman." The tape rings out after a moment of no speech, before it goes completely quiet.

Kega, who is now panting from the rush of fear, clicks the play button off. He stares at the frightened hyena for a moment before walking back to the table and setting the player down. "What the fuck was that... He's watching us right now, I bet you anything!" Lowe yells.

"Whether he is or not, we got a problem, and we're gonna have to get out of it." Kega tells him.

Lowe growls loudly. "Why should I help you, huh!"

Kega raises his head and looks at him. "Because if you don't, you're gonna die! Is that reason enough!"

Lowe gives a low growl, but doesn't respond to the question. "How do we know he's not bluffing?"

"I'd rather work on the assumption that he isn't bluffing. Because like it or not, we're still trapped. I'm not gonna fight with you, so let's just figure this thing out."

Lowe sighs, and nods a little, watching the jaguar intently. Kega stares at him for a moment, before turning and looking at the table. "Alright... Gotta see how this will work." Kega states.

"Well what's with the calendar?" Lowe asks him.

Kega hrms in thought. He sets down the tape player and removes his suit jacket, tossing it aside. He then picks up the calendar, flipping it open and looking through the pages. They all contain pictures of kittens and puppies. Somehow he believes he should have expected that. But the main thing he notes is that every last date contains writing on it. "What in the..." Kega stutters.

"What is it?"

"All of the calendar dates are questions... sorta."

Lowe raises an eyebrow. "Give me an example?"

Kega hrms and places his finger on one idly. "This one says, 'Mother's birth month.' And another says, 'Calls to Mexico.'"

"Are we supposed to answer all of these or something!"

"I don't know, man! I'm just telling you what's on the calendar!"

Lowe growls loudly and punches the glass once, pacing around the room he's in. A strange mix of anger and fear swirls inside of him, enhanced by the fact that he's picking up a weird smell in his room. The jaguar just watches him for a moment. "Why don't you try to break the glass?" Kega asks him.

Lowe stares at him, angrily. "What, you think this fuck would make the mistake of leaving a breakable window for me to get through? Don't be an idiot!"

Kega grrrs, and passes off the statement for now, setting down the calendar and looking at the piece of paper also left for him. It's then that he starts coughing, one of his paws coming up idly and gripping his throat. Lowe stops pacing and watching him as the jaguar stops after few hacks. "Don't die on me now, jags."

Kega growls and doesn't bother looking back at him. "I'm fine!"

He looks at the list on the piece of paper. There's a short, typed-up list:

_1. Carli's death  
2. Day of reckoning  
3. Funzen's birth  
4. Graduation day  
5. Susie  
6. The Grand Acquisition_

"What the hell... I know a few of these..." Kega says.

"What? What is it?" Lowe asks.

"More of these... questions, or whatever I should call them. These ones are looking for dates."

"Oh, well, that explains the calendar then, huh? Think of the damn dates!"

"I'm trying, god damnit, calm down!" Kega yells, looking at him.

Lowe punches the glass again as he growls and paces around. "It's smelling fucking weird in here, okay! It's freaking me out!"

"That's what he WANTS!" Kega yells loudly at him.

Lowe grips his headfur in his paws as he grrs, trying to calm himself down. The half of the room he's in is getting creepier. There are random chips and scratches in the walls, and they seem to be forming shapes and silhouettes the more he stares at them. He slaps himself in the muzzle to get his mind focused. He's just freaking out because of his situation, because of the weird smell that's settling in the air. "Just... do it man, okay?" He says.

Kega writes something on the list with the pencil, only nodding to the hyena's statement. He can feel sweat running down his face a bit, not sure if it's because of his fear, or the poison that he's been told is inside of him. Either way, he feels sick to his stomach, and that dust he inhaled upon waking up isn't helping anything. Looking at the list, he knows he is expected to figure out dates, not necessarily from this year. He has written down one: Funzen's birth. Funzen is his nephew, whom was born only a few months before. He's not allowed to see him because of his ties to the mafia, but he remembered his birthday. And he knows what the madman wants for #1: Carli's death. Carli was the name of his mother. _Son of a bitch... How does he know all this..._

The jaguar coughs a few times again, leaning onto the table a little and thinking hard. He has to get these dates down before he succumbs to this poison. Every few seconds he can feel a light jolt inside him. A movement. It's spreading, and threatening to take him down. He hears the hyena beginning to cough, amidst growling. "Fucking christ..." He hears Lowe mumble.

Kega takes a deep breath, ignoring the musty smell of the room in the process. His eyes close, and open again, looking at the sheet. He must concentrate. The next date he gets down is the Day of Reckoning... It's a nickname for a day in his mafia's history when half the ranks were massacred in a battle with the previous gang before the Killer Fists. Looking at the other on the list, he can recognize what they all mean, but, the dates are not coming to him. The last thing he wants to do is guess the dates and get them wrong. _Susie... Acquisition... come on, damnit! Fucker, you had to research this..._

The jaguar tunes out Lowe in his venting of growls. He doesn't know how long he thinks before he has two more dates down: The death of his mother, and the Grand Acquisition, which is the date when the mafia gained two big gang territories from the Killer Fists. His concentration is interrupted once when the lights flicker off, just like they did earlier. The two victims look up and around, before they click back on again. They then look at each other. "What the hell was that?" Kega asks.

Lowe, who looks in a bad way, shrugs a little with a low growl. "I don't know... maybe they're defective..." He says, then coughing audibly.

Kega stares at him a little, before he growls and looks back at the sheet. "Hang in there... I almost got these last two..."

Lowe groans and leans against the windowpane, panting. The window looks a little foggy, and he can slightly see the presence of gasses in the air. Each breath he takes is stinging his nose and throat. His muscles randomly twitch as the nerve agent is threatening to send him to convulsions. "God damnit it can't be that hard..."

"I got another one..." Kega replies, trying to concentrate.

He writes down the date next to "Graduation Day." He realizes it must be a term for the day he ascended away from the lower ranks of the mafia and into the higher-ups. Now for the last one... Susie. Who is Susie? He's never known a Susie in his life. He growls and holds the table with his paws, squeezing, trying to think. What is this crazy stalker talking about? Once more, the lights in both sides of the room flicker off again, but stay off for a much shorter time. "What the hell..." Kega says.

Lowe pants heavily, in a bit of a panic. "God damnit, he's fucking watching us, man! He's flickering the lights to fuck with us!"

"Calm down, Lowe!"

Lowe growls loudly and punches the glass separating the two rooms. "I bet it's bulletproof, huh asshole! Or did you take my gun away so I couldn't shoot through it!" Lowe yells to the ceiling.

Kega blinks and snaps his eyes wide open. Gun! The first gun he ever purchased was from a guy who called the gun Susie! Kega grabs the pencil and thinks hard for a moment, before a date snaps into his head. "September 18th..."

Lowe looks through the grass, holding his forehead with one paw. "... what?"

"That's the last date I need!" He says, scribbling it down.

Lowe sighs once, a little relieved, leaning on the window edge in an attempt to calm down, one of his arms quivering. "If you have all 6... Then look and see what they ask..." He says.

"Alright, uh... I'll, look at that one first..."

Kega grabs the calendar and flips through to September, finger falling onto the 18th. "It says, 'The Fallen Knuckles.' ... What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Lowe's eyes widen, and he looks up at the jaguar's back. "... That son of a bitch."

"What? What is it?"

Lowe growls, followed by a groan, one of his arms going around his stomach. "Fucking stalker... How does he know that..."

Kega turns and looks at the hyena. For the first time, he notices the air inside the hyena's chamber is a little bit greener than before. He shakes the thought off. "What is it?"

Lowe rubs his throat with his other paw as he breathes what air he can in the chamber. "We... The Fists... Inside the Fists, we had a group called The Iron Knuckles. Basically they were the gang members we thought were the best ones, and I was one. We competed on who could kill more of your guys, but we kept dying, and once all the Knuckles but me and my brother were left, the truce went into effect."

"So... I take it this ass shouldn't know about this?"

Lowe coughs a few times, holding his throat and nodding. "And I shouldn't even be telling you... but... I know we... erk..."

The hyena falls to his knees and groans, tossing his head forward as he begins vomiting onto the stone floor in front of him. Kega growls a little, his eyes growing worried. "Don't die on me! We need each other to get out of here!"

Lowe stops vomiting after a moment, one of his paws slapping onto the wall and pushing against it as that arm convulses crazily. He raises his head and tries to breathe, his eyes wide as they look around the room. "... the shadow..."

Kega blinks. "What?"

Lowe sits up and shakily gets to his feet, staring at the walls. He swears he can see a silhouette moving amongst the twitching scratches he saw before. "Shadow... it attacked us... here with me..."

Kega growls and walks up to the window to the room, slamming it with the side of his fist. This causes Lowe to snap to attention and look over at the jaguar. "You're just seeing things! Pull yourself together and help me! These questions obviously have to be tailored toward you, I need you to be fucking sane!" He yells to the hyena.

Lowe stares at the jaguar and groans a little, holding his midsection, but nods softly. Kega is panting, partially with sickness, and partially with the fear that just exploded inside of him when he thought Lowe was dying there. "Now... How many Knuckles have died?" He asks.

The hyena pants with a slight raspy noise, continuing to stare at the jaguar quietly, but decides he has to answer this if he wants to live. "... Five. Five out of seven."

Kega nods a little, and walks back to the table, grabbing the pencil and writing 5 next to the question answered. "Alright... Stay with me, I'm going to go through the others." Kega tells him.

Lowe just nods, even though Kega isn't looking at him. The jaguar ignores a heavy pain that just entered his stomach as he flips to another date, December 5th. "Alright... It says, 'Forbidden Lovers.'"

The hyena groans a little and growls, stomping his foot and looking annoyed. "God... All of these are about me, aren't they?"

"Just answer them, please!" Kega yells to him.

Lowe punches the glass once again, his fist looking raw from the last few punches, as they were quite hard and angry. Kega growls loudly and slaps his pencil hand to the table. "Look, I don't care what the hell they're asking you, you don't have to tell me what anymore of them mean, I just want numbers so I can get you out of there! I know neither of us want you to fucking die in that damn gas chamber, so cooperate, or I can't get you out!" The jaguar yells off to the hyena in a rant.

Lowe holds his head and growls low as his body quivers in a convulsion, trying to control his anger, and ignore a pounding headache. His knuckles bleed a bit down his wrist, but he doesn't care. "... It's... It's four, I think."

"You 'think'? That's not good enough."

"Four is all I can remember, damnit! My memory is usually good with this shit!"

"Alright! ... Alright, sorry..."

Kega looks down and writes the number where it goes, groaning then as a shot of pain flows through his body, causing him to fall to one knee. Lowe pants and leans against the back wall, his maw salivating heavily, causing him to drool onto his chest. It's a side effect of the nerve gas attacking his nervous system. He spits onto the floor to get rid of some access. "Which is next..."

Kega fights through the pulse of pain as he checks a date and flips through the pages of the calendar, finding it. "Next one is, 'The Lost Shots.'"

Lowe groans a little and stomps one of his feet. A bad memory, and yet another clear sign of how much this madman knows. He's referring to a gang war between a now defunct rival gang, where he had several chances to take out the leader but missed every shot. "It... It was... seven. Seven shots."

"You sure?"

"YES!" Lowe yells angrily, gripping his head afterward.

Kega grrls a little, but doesn't snap back at him, knowing these are questions Lowe would rather not answer. But they have no choice. He flips to the next date in the calendar. His vision goes blurry for a moment, but he rubs his eyes and focuses. "Next one: 'Set of Betrayals.'"

Lowe pushes his head back against the wall and growls loudly. "You son of a bitch..." He mutters.

"Come on, Lowe..."

"Damnit, I'm thinking!" He answers, groaning and pacing back and forth a bit.

Kega's breathing starts to get a little raspy, and his empty hand drifts to his throat idly. Damnit. They've been at this a long time thanks to all the thinking he did on the dates. He doesn't know how much time they have left. Suddenly, the lights flicker off once more. "Oh damnit will you FUCKING STOP IT!" Lowe yells up at the ceiling under the darkness.

Kega groans a little, as the lights switch back on after a matter of seconds. "Don't lose it, Lowe..."

The hyena breathes hard in anger, groaning and falling to his knees, trying not to vomit again. He can feel himself losing control of his other bodily functions, but he manages to hold on before something unfortunate happens. The atmosphere in his cell is a bit greener again. The gas is getting too thick. Soon, he may not have oxygen left to breathe. "Betrayals... damnit... how many did I betray..."

The jaguar stands back up to both feet, shakily. "Think, man, come on..."

Lowe closes his eyes in thought, shaking his head around a bit. "It... was three. Couldn't have been anyone else."

Kega nods, as he writes it down. "Just two more, man... Hang in there..." He says, as he flips through the calendar.

"Trying... Trying hard..."

"'Children of the Underling.'"

Lowe looks up at the jaguar, his eyes burning, but fights back his anger. He once had an apprentice that secretly enslaved children against the wishes of the gang. "I'm so sick of this..."

"Answer it, Lowe!"

"Give me the next one... I'll think of both..."

Kega nods, and flips to the final page they need. Finding the final date of February 1st, he groans a little. The hyena likely won't enjoy it at all. "Last one is... well... 'Females.'"

Lowe grips his head with his paws and groans when he hears that, anger threatening to tear out of his skin, his face burning up. "God I'm gonna kill this son of a bitch, Kega, I swear..."

"Not if I don't get you out of there... Give me answers, hyena!"

Lowe lets out a bit of a roar as his fists punch the stone floor. A bit of blood seeps out from his already injured fists after impact, drool dripping from his muzzle heavily. He spits off in a direction once more, leaning his head back and breathing heavily. "Fucking... trying..."

"Regulate your breathing, Lowe, you're sucking in a lot of gas..."

Lowe groans and lowers his head again, a paw drifting to his stomach as he starts throwing up again. Kega widens his eyes and steps up to the glass, hitting it once. "Stay with me!" He yells.

The hyena ceases vomiting, and stands up, stumbling backwards into one of the corners. He covers up his nose with a paw, the bloody one, breathing only through his mouth. "... eight." He mutters.

"Eight what?"

"Females... The females one... It's eight... Just, put it down..."

Kega steps away from the glass and walks back to the paper, marking it down. "One more, man... Just one..."

Lowe leans his head backward a bit and closes his eyes, which are starting to burn from exposure to the gas in the room. "I'm... thinking..."

Kega watches him, then gets another jolt through his body, an arm wrapping around his stomach. His other hand latches onto the edge of the table to keep him from falling on his face, his legs buckling and making him drop to his knees. It feels like pain is coursing through every vein of his body. His muscles quiver, including his eyelids. It starts to weaken, and he opens his eyes. Illusions and silhouettes dance around before his vision. One of them looks like the shadow that appeared before he was brought here. His heart starts skipping beats, his veins going cold from fear. Why is it here? What is it going to do to him this time? "SIX!"

The jaguar snaps out of it, his eyes blinking several times. The silhouettes are gone. "... six... SIX!" Yells the voice of Lowe.

Kega looks over to the gas chamber to see the hyena staring at him. He answered the last one. Kega gasps and snaps back to his feet, fighting through the pain that he felt in his body. He believes it's only his fear that's making it hurt worse. He grabs the pencil and quickly jots down the final number. The sheet is complete:

_1. Carli's death_ - Dec 5 - 4  
_2. Day of reckoning_ - Aug 9 - 7  
_3. Funzen's birth_ - Mar 6 - 3  
_4. Graduation day_ - Jun 17 - 6  
_5. Susie_ - Sep 18 - 5  
_6. The Grand Acquisition_ - Feb 1 - 8

"Yes... Yes, we got all of the numbers, man. I just hope they're right..." Kega says.

Lowe groans loudly as he leans against the glass, his body convulsing and causing his arm to smack against it. He's gasping for breaths. "Put in the... damn combination!"

"I... I have to figure it out first."

Lowe groans loudly. "Fucking hurry!"

Kega growls and looks at the sheet, and then at the calendar, flipping through it and looking for some kind of clue. The madman said the clue is in the materials. Well where could it be? Looking at the sheet again, the jaguar notices the 6 are in alphabetical order, from Carli's death to The Grand Acquisition. That would make the combination 473658. _No... No it can't be that easy..._ The jaguar thinks to himself.

His ears pick up the sound of the hyena gasping louder for air. He's suffocating, the final symptom of the nerve agent. Kega groans loudly and slams the table with his fists. He's running out of time. He stares at the sheet of paper, and suddenly it clicks. _The dates!_

The dates he had to look at are all from different months. In order, they're February, March, June, August, September, and December. He quickly scribbles down the numbers going in that order: 836754. This is it. It has to be. "I got it, Lowe!" He yells.

He blinks a little when he gets no answer. He turns and leaps toward the window, seeing Lowe on the ground inside, holding his throat and convulsing. "LOWE!" He yells, hitting the glass.

The hyena makes no response. Kega quickly goes to the door, looking at the electronic lock. The green words upon it read ENTER COMBINATION. Kega believes Lowe must still be alive, and he holds up his sheet of paper. Both of his hands shake and quiver, making it hard to read the numbers or press the keys. He growls and tries to force himself to calm down, typing in the keys, which appear on the small screen. 8... 3... 6... 7... 5... 4. _Please be correct..._ He silently prays.

Kega stares at the screen blanks for a moment, making low noises. A word finally pops up: CONFIRMED. A sound similar to an air seal breaking echoes through the room, and the door opens a bit. Kega quickly grabs the handle and opens it, coughing at the greenish nerve agent in the air. He holds his breath and runs inside, grabbing the downed hyena gangster by his arms and dragging him across the floor. He finds he almost lacks the strength to do that, much less carry him out. The hyena makes no noises as he's soon in the other room, the jaguar setting him down and slamming the door to the gas chamber shut. He pants heavily and slides down the door, an incredible sense of relief filling his body, only to be quickly replaced by worry. He turns and flops down next to the hyena. "Lowe! Lowe, wake up!"

He grabs the hyena's shoulders and shakes him, soft at first, and then again with more vigor. "You're out, man, you're out! Don't die now!" He yells to him.

The jaguar lightly slaps the hyena's face back and forth, and finally, Lowe begins coughing. He shoots up to his feet and stumbles into one of the corners of the room, coughing and hacking, before giving long abrupt gasps, breathing air into his lungs. Much cleaner air. "what... what the fuck..." He mumbles.

Kega pants heavily, sweating, knowing it must be because of the poison. He gets to his feet, wobbly, his body feeling weak and his muscles feeling pained. "I... I got you out. You're out." He says.

Lowe raises his head, wide-eyed, looking at a stone corner that's not caked in eye-burning nerve gas. He stands straight and turns around to the jaguar. "... You son of a bitch." He says, before chuckling, with a smile on his face.

Kega smirks a little and laughs quietly amidst his breathing. "We... We can escape now... We beat him."

Lowe uses his paws and rubs his eyes fervently, then blinking them several times, tears tripping from them, acting to help clean them out. "That sucked so bad... argh..."

"You're free... We can get out now."

Lowe regulates his breathing, and stands straight, looking at the jaguar. He can tell he's in bad shape. Kega looks back at him, silent for a moment, before he starts coughing. Blood falls from his jaws and hits the floor. "... shit..."

Lowe winces an eye, and then blinks, remembering. He reaches into one of his pockets, and pulls out a small vial. It's full of a blue liquid, and the cap has a small needle that would no doubt inject upon contact. Kega groans and falls to a knee, raising his head after his cough fit, and seeing what Lowe is holding. "The... antidote..." He mumbles.

The hyena blinks a little, staring at it still. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Give it... to me. Please..." Kega says, holding one of his paws out.

Lowe turns and stares at him. This is what the madman was waiting for. One of his worst enemies just saved him from certain death. An enemy that virtually holds the mafia/Fists truce together. Lowe goes back to staring at the antidote. He's torn about what to do here. He has a burning hatred for the jaguar and the mafia, but he can't deny the truce, and the gas chamber rescue. Kega groans and growls a little at Lowe's hesitation, crawling forward a little ways before managing to stand, holding his arm out again. "Please... I saved you... We can get out together..." He says.

The hyena looks at him, noting he's closer now, the wildcat paw held out for him. He looks at the paw, then to the jaguar's eyes. Kega's eyes show worry, and a begging look. Lowe takes the vial in his fist and extends it toward the jaguar's paw. Kega awaits to receive it, but suddenly, Lowe's fist stops a few inches from the paw. Kega blinks at him, and the expressionless hyena suddenly grins widely. His fist opens, and the vial falls. Kega only has time to look down and gasp before his hope for a cure shatters and splashes over the dusty floor. "NOOO!" He yells, staring at the glass and liquid flying through the air, only to land, some splashing onto his shoes.

Lowe lowers his arm, and starts laughing. "Oops..." He says, tauntingly.

Sorrow, fear, anger, and a rush of emotions flow down into Kega as he stares at the floor. He then growls loudly and clenches his fists tight. With a roar, one fist flies at the hyena and strikes him in the chest. Lowe flinches backward just a little, but smirks. The punch had little effect. Kega stares at him, and roars again, swinging his other fist for the hyena's face. Lowe brings a hand up and catches it, then uses his other to punch the jaguar in the midsection. Kega groans loudly and buckles over from the hit, his hand moving away from Lowe's chest and holding his stomach. Lowe then throws down the jaguar's other fist and uses that hand to strike him in the face. Kega flies backward and lands hard on his back, groaning in the pain from both shots. "Yeah that's nice, attack a seasoned veteran of many gang wars." Lowe yells at him.

Kega rolls to his side, groaning, blood running from his nose. One of his eyes turns and looks at the hyena. "w... why..." He spits out.

"Why? WHY? You're a mafia scumbag, that's why. I hate you and it'd be a pleasure to see you dead." Lowe tells him.

"I saved... your life..." Kega says, starting to get up to his knees.

"Yeah, so? Thanks a lot for that, but I don't give a shit. I'm surprised you didn't just leave me in there. You wanted me out for the antidote."

Kega growls at him, but then groans loudly, beginning to vomit on the ground in front of him, a majority of the release blood from his intestines. Lowe just leans against a wall on the opposite side of the room and laughs it up. "You look so pathetic now. Big mafia man, reduced to a dying animal. It's a wonderful sight."

The jaguar soon stops vomiting as he stumbles into the nearby corner, gasping for breath and holding his midsection with an arm. He looks over at the hyena, his eyes full of anger, but glazed over and dilated from his life fading from him. "The... the truce... will be gone... The Killer Fists... will perish..."

"Yeah we'll just have to see about that, now won't we? The Fists have been preparing for a fallen truce for a long time, and without a top guy like you, the mafia will be weakened." Lowe explains, tossing his hair back and staring at the jaguar. "I could go over there and take your card key away, but it's so much better to sit back and watch you die."

Kega growls, feeling the need to get up and storm at the hyena, to attack him mercilessly. But he can't feel his legs. He jerks his head around a little before leaning it back against the corner, gasping harder for air. He stares up at the ceiling, watching it blur and distort to his vision. It's getting darker, and his body is feeling colder. It's over. He's succumbing to the poison. "Hurry up and die, you pest!" Lowe snaps at him.

Kega's chest heaves with his heavy, last breaths, his arms and body limp and immovable. His vision gets extremely dark and fidgety, so he simply closes his eyes, feeling the last of his life fading. "You... fool..." He says, managing a tone just above a whisper.

Those become the jaguar's last words as his lungs soon quit trying to take in the air, his chest going still and his head staying still against the wall. Lowe chuckles, grinning widely. He calmly walks over to the fallen mafia member, leaning down and digging into his pants pocket. There he finds the card key, holding it up in front of his eye. Using his other paw, he digs in his own pocket and pulls out a turnkey, one about the size of a screwdriver. He smiles widely as he looks at them both, then to the jaguar. He takes both keys in one paw and uses the other to pat Kega's cheek. "Sleep well, old buddy. I'll be sure not to tell anyone of your whereabouts." He says, chuckling happily.

He stands then, spitting a small loogie onto the dead jaguar before walking to the door leading out of the room. The latch locking the door is very simple, requiring the key and the card. The hyena takes the turnkey and inserts it into its square slot, all the way, before turning it and hearing a click. One latch off. He laughs again, so relieved that he can now get out of this mess, and hopefully find whoever did this to him. "Here's to you, you son of a bitch. You better hope you're not behind this door, because your ass is mine."

He takes the card, setting it stripe-first into the top of the slot, and slides it through. Suddenly, it sparks up with a bright flash. The hyena raises his arms out of reflex and takes a few steps backward. He looks with surprise as the mechanism sparks and smokes, before it makes a light explosion and falls to the ground, breaking into pieces. He lowers his arms, and stares at the wreckage with wide eyes, and then to the door. He grabs the handle with a paw and pushes down to try and open it. Nothing. It won't budge. He tries harder, dropping the card key and using both paws, growling loudly, but nothing. The card key latch is still locked. He roars and slams on the door with his fists. "OPEN UP, DAMNIT!"

He looks back down at the wreckage on the floor, growling angrily. His growling abruptly ceases when he sees something amidst the ruined mechanism: A cassette tape. A small one. He goes quiet and wide-eyed again, and then looks up at the table just opposite him. The tape player. His mind flashes back to the jaguar playing it earlier, listening to what the madman had to say. He looks down once again at the tape, before bending down and picking it up, staring at it. It has his name on it, in black marker. He stares at it, horrified. He's unsure what to think of it, but knows one thing for sure. _I have no choice but to play it..._

He looks up at the player on the table once again, before walking over. He picks up the player and opens it up, taking out the previous tape. It's the same size as the new one, and it has Kega's name on it. His heart rate starts to rapidly increase, causing him to begin panting, as he inserts his tape, closing it up. His thumb shakes as it slinks its way to the "Play" button, hesitating, before pressing it down. Noise cackles over the playback like with the previous tape. "Hello, Lowe. I see you've found this tape, hidden inside of the door lock mechanism." It says, in the same voice as before.

Lowe can't help but look over at the ruined lock, before staring back at the player. "And if you found this tape, it means you're out of your gas prison, the door out of the room is still locked, and your mafia friend lies dead on the floor. Am I correct?"

The hyena starts shaking in anger and fear, gripping the table with his empty paw and trying to calm down. "You chose not to give the one who saved you his antidote. This was a grave mistake. What I didn't tell the both of you was how special Kega's card key happens to be. For you see, just as the lock of the gas chamber was tailored to your life force, so was the card tailored to Kega's."

Lowe's eyes snap wide, and his heart starts skipping beats. He turns a little and looks to the corner at the jaguar, eyes quivering in terror. "By letting him die, you ruined the card key. By letting him die, you caused the malfunction in the lock. By letting him die, you have doomed yourself to death."

"No... NO!" Lowe yells, slamming his fist on the table, breaking it clean in half and spilling the rest of the items onto the floor.

"You watched with a callous laugh as a living being died in front of you, sapped of all he had left. He fought back against what pulsed through his veins to save you from a horrible death within the gas, and you repaid him by watching him die, all for your own selfish reasons. You have failed the lesson you were to learn today."

The hyena falls to his knees, his one arm falling limp while the other keeps the tape player held up. "You have proven that you do not appreciate life. And those who do not appreciate life, do not deserve life."

There's a click in the gas chamber room, and Lowe looks up, noting the light inside it just turned off. Then, the one above him starts flickering, his face turning up and staring at it. "Game over." The tape says, before growing eerily quiet like the first.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Lowe screams, horrifically, and as loud as his lungs will let him, his scream echoing across the walls of his prison as the light flickers off for the final time.

* * *

THE END 

Scy

Characters © Me  
Saw, Saw II & The Jigsaw Killer © Lions Gate Films


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